ANKARA - HDP Vice Co-Chair Tayip Temel, who spoke on the "censorship law" that was discussed in the parliament and the first two articles that were accepted, said, "No one has the power to prevent the truth, including this government."

 

Today's deliberations of the bill, known as the "censorship law" in the parliament, which envisages new sanctions on internet media and social media, have ended. The discussions started with the HDP and CHP's demands for procedural discussions. HDP and CHP demanded a procedural discussion on the unconstitutionality of the bill.

 

'NAGİHAN WAS MURDERED BY THE MENTALİTY THAT WANTS TO OBSCURE THE TRUTH'

 

Speaking on behalf of HDP Group, Tayip Temel started his speach by commemorating journalist Nagihan Akarsel who was murdered in Slemani yesterday. Temel said: "Akarsel, who devoted her life to the struggle of women's reality and women's journalism, was an academician who gave lectures in women's academies. She worked, wrote and taught for the women's freedom struggle for years. She made efforts for alliances with women in the Middle East against a mindset like the ISIS army. She believed that with the struggle of the women of the Middle East, these lands would be liberated, she became a part of the world women's struggle for this cause. Nagihan was murdered by the mentality that tried to obscure the truth; we curse her killers."

 

'LAWS DON'T WORK FOR YOU AND YOUR FOLLOWERS'

 

Temel said, "The government has made many moves to create a thornless rose garden, it had many attacks against opposition voices. During the construction of the oppressive regime, they attacked the opposition media, they said they were planning a "coup", they said they were 'propagandising violence', they said they were "manipulating", they criminalized everyone who did not think like them, did not serve them, did not obey their policies, and they declared enemies. They do not recognize the right to life for anyone, freedom of thaught and expression. They say they will think for us and speak for us and we should repeat what they say. They gave the right to commit any crime their followes wanted. There is not one prosecutor left to investigate their crimes. You think that the rules and laws don't apply to you. You are wrong."

 

Warning the government, Temel said: "We are warning you in advance. These laws you make as a trap for the society will hit you in time. You will see who is spreading terror propaganda, who is spreading disinformation when there is law in this country, when the universal laws apply. The society is aware of all these and they will remember."

 

'YOU CAN NOT OBSCURE THE TRUTH' 

 

"No one has ever been successfull in obscuring the truth including this government. You can not silence the free press. Those who follow the truth, not compromising from their values, did not take a step back and despite these laws, the journalists who are in love with freedom will continue to their jobs.

 

'THE SOURCE OF DISINFORMATION IS THE GOVERNMENT ITSELF'

 

Is there disinformation? Yes. Ofcourse. Have disinformation and manipulation becamse a method? They have. But the source of this disinformation and manipulation is the government itself. They are channelling millions to their trolls to do that. Sacks of money are transferred from the public's budget to these groups, which are organized to insult the society.

 

'YOU ARE THE SOURCE OF VIOLENCE'

 

So you will declare the journalists who expose your lies and crimes to the public terrorists, you will ban the right to expression, you will insistanly direct the to other paths and then you associate them with violence and terror, will you? Here I say clearly that you are the source of this violence. It is your policies that do not give the people the right to live freely in their own country. By preventing freedom of thought and expression, you are directing the society to violence. Do you think that as you increase the methods of repression, the right of objection of the society disappears and ends? Was there a regime that oppressed its own people as much as the Syrian regime? Was there a government, a dictator who tortured and oppressed its people as much as Saddam? There is no need to go far, let me remind Iran: While a strict regime like Iran is oppressing its people today, look, where those policies of oppression lead? People are resisting to it to the death."

 

'JOURNALIST IS RESPONSIBLE TO THE PEOPLE'

 

Speaking on behalf of the CHP Group, Ahmet Tuncay Özkan said, “The journalist is not responsible to their state. The journalist is not responsible to any party, the journalist is responsible to their people. they depend on the truth, it rely on the truth,” and pointed out the dangers of the proposal.

 

FIRST TWO ARTICLES WERE ACCEPTED

 

Following the completion of the first part of the proposal, the first two articles of the proposal were voted on and passed. The accepted articles are as follows: “The first article allowing press cards to be issued to employees on internet news sites was accepted. Thus, the provision in the first paragraph of the first article of the current Press Law, 'This Law covers the printing and publication of published works'; It was amended with the provision that 'This Law covers the printing and publication of published works and internet news sites'. In addition, with the adoption of the first article in the proposal, the provision "Members of the media and information officers who request a press card in terms of press card regulation are also included in the scope of this Law" was added to the first article of the Press Law. With this provision, public personnel working in radio, television and information services provided by public institutions and organizations were also enabled to receive press cards.

 

With the provision of "internet news sites" added to the second article of the Press Law in the second article of the proposal, websites were also included among the press organizations within the scope of widespread distribution. In addition, the definition of the internet news site was made as 'a periodical that is established and operated to present written, visual or audio content in the form of news or comments on the internet at certain intervals'.

 

The General Assembly will continue with the discussion of the other articles of the proposal today.